Other

The fastest, most organized and most efficient people, processes and devices all have a couple of things in common. The first is that they all have a system; some sort of method for making order out of chaos, fast. The second thing they all have in common is that they are assuredly better than the rest of us.

Don’t despair if you’re the type of person who stuffs 60 unpaired socks into a drawer directly after they come out of the dryer. Those of us who don’t have systems can purchase the services of the superior people, processes and devices that do and live our best lives with the systems they have worked so hard to hone. Take content delivery networks and cache headers, for example.

Achieving speed

There are millions of different websites on the internet with billions of different people accessing them. And yet, for all of humanity’s differences, there is one thing we all want from every website: speed. Luckily there is one thing that can give any website more of it.

A content delivery network or CDN is a global network of cache servers that improves your website performance and reduces page load time in two main ways. Firstly, by directing each user to the cache server physically closest to them, a CDN cuts down on how far data has to travel between a browser and a server, greatly improving round trip time and therefore page load time.

Secondly, a CDN also serves up intelligently cached content instead of necessitating a trip to the origin server every time a user’s browser requests a new page or file.

Cache only establishment

Your website, quite likely, is made up of an impressive amount of content. Static content, dynamic content, multimedia content, HTML files, the list goes on. When you have a website with a single server and no caching ability, every single time someone goes to your website and goes to a new page, their browser has to request your content from the origin server. Every time. To use a euphemism, this is less than optimal.

The cache servers in a CDN store your website’s content in order to serve it to users as quickly as possible from the server closest to them. Cache servers typically cache static content, but more advanced CDNs also have the ability to cache dynamic content for the period in which it remains static. As CDN provider Imperva Incapsula points out, CDN caching not only improves website performance, but it also decreases your bandwidth costs and helps ensure reliable content delivery.

How the magic happens

How CDN caching actually works involves one of those nifty systems mentioned in the opening. A CDN is able to identify your website’s cacheable content as well as understand the rules for caching this content thanks to HTTP cache headers used by your web developer which tell your CDN everything it needs to know. When it comes to your web content, the following are the most relevant headers.

Expires. About as straightforward as cache headers come, this one tells the CDN when the content is going to ‘expire,’ forcing the CDN to fetch content from the origin server, ensuring that even your cached content is fresh. Efficient though this tag may be, it has largely been replaced by the next one.

Cache control. Think of this one as Expires 2.0. Cache control tells your CDN when the content has to be re-fetched, as the Expires header does, but it also allows you to identify content as private or public, identify it as no-cache, forcing the CDN to revalidate content before delivering it to a user, or identify content as no-store, which prevents confidential data like banking information from being stored.

Pragma. Speaking of headers superseded by cache control, pragma headers were previously used to set caching instructions for browsers.

Surrogate. The surrogate headers allow you to set caching policies with the authority of the origin server, which therefore gives you better control over cache policies.

ETag. This is where the sorting and labeling gets pretty sophisticated. ETag headers allow you to provide your content with unique identifiers. It also eliminates unnecessary content re-fetching because when your content has expired according to your cache control or expires headers, the proxy server simply sends the ETag to the origin server to check if the relevant content has been changed. If it has remained the same, the cache server does not bother re-fetching.

Vary. When your website has multiple versions of the same content – say compressed files stored alongside uncompressed versions – you would use vary headers to dictate how the content is used in different situations. For instance, some browsers aren’t equipped to handle compressed content, so a vary header is used to serve the content in its uncompressed format, ensuring smooth loading of your website. Vary headers can be super useful, but not every browser handles them well so they need to be used judiciously.

Nothing to worry about

It’s possible that you created your own website and cannot recall ever using a cache header. It’s also possible that you have no reason to believe that the person you paid to develop your website ever used a cache header. That’s all okay.

Advanced CDNs will actually have intelligent cache control that is predictive through learning. They can monitor, categorize and cache a wider range of content all the while largely eliminating the hands-on part of the caching process, making their own processes more efficient while saving you time and probably some swearing. With your CDN taking care of caching, you can focus more energy on that sock drawer and never have to spend another meeting hoping no one will notice you’re wearing one polka dot sock and one in a shade of business grey.

image credit: digitalocean

Cache-ing in: a guide to cache headers and improved website performance was last modified: September 14th, 2016 by Web Desk

In the past several years, app stores have grown to include a virtually limitless range of games. This is a great development for gamers, who can now find pretty much any means they want of entertaining themselves with mobile devices. However, the sheer size of the selection also makes it easy to overlook some great experiences.

I wanted to take a look back at some terrific games that may have been missed, particularly those based on popular movies. When a major release such as the latest Marvel superhero film comes out, an accompanying mobile game is often front and center, featured at the app store menu. But a lot of very enjoyable games based on good films don’t get this kind of positioning. Below are five of the best, some of which you may never have noticed before.

It’s a little bit shocking how little attention this app garnered. Released to coincide more or less with Furious 7 in theaters, it’s a celebration of the entire film franchise than anything else. Perhaps it’s because games like Sony’s DriveClub have finally taken racing games to extraordinary heights on consoles, or because there are just so many alternative options in the genre on mobile devices. But Kabam’s Fast & Furious: Legacy is well worth a look. Consisting of customization options, the chance to build a “crew” and compete with other players, and a satisfying selection of film-based missions and racing locations, it’s really got everything a fan could want.

Originally designed in 2012, this game actually precedes the latest addition to the franchise, 2015’s Jurassic World. That film actually produced its own somewhat similar app game that was characterized by Gaming Lives as a decent but unremarkable freemium experience. But there’s something that just works about Jurassic Park Builder, which is based on the earlier films. In this app, it’s up to you to design the park from scratch, developing new areas, discovering and growing new dinosaurs, and creating experiences for park visitors. There are social and multiplayer elements at play, but constructing the park is the core of the game.

I, Gladiator doesn’t clearly invoke the image of a particular film, but it does claim to be based on gladiator movies—and that means Gladiator, the definitive film on the subject. Incidentally, that 2000 movie never made much of a splash in gaming, though there’s a slot game based on its subject matter that’s available at some websites. Described by Gambling.com as a game that “broke the mold” for its genre, this slot populated its reel and background with official imagery and even music from the film. But for a more action-packed experience, I, Gladiator is the closest thing we have to a combat game based on the same movie—and it’s a very satisfying one. Designed as a first/third person (it’s truly almost in between) slasher, it puts you in the arena with a gladiator you can gradually improve as you fend off new opponents. The gameplay and graphics are wonderful.

Like I, Gladiator, this game isn’t based on a specific movie so much as a general canon. If I, Gladiator is for all gladiator films (which again, mostly means Gladiator), then Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is for not just all Star Wars films, but also the animated projects and literature to accompany the series. It’s essentially its own experience within the world of Star Wars, but regardless it’s arguably the best mobile game related to that world. Technically set between episodes III and IV of the series, the game puts you in the role of a secret apprentice to Darth Vader in a quest to hunt down Jedi. It’s a fun way to embrace the dark side, and it’s a beautifully designed game.

As mentioned, major superhero releases are often among those movies that have accompanying app games featured on main menus, or at least advertised prominently in one way or another. It’s been true for a lot of releases, though this game for Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 seemed to fly under the radar a little bit. Perhaps it was because there was a console game by the same name (which IGN dismissed, more or less). The app, meanwhile, is one of the more complete and impressive open-world action experiences you can find for mobile devices. Playing through a story loosely based on the film, you can pretty much do all the fun Spider-Man things you’d like to do, taking down anonymous thugs and famous villains alike, and all in a very sharply rendered world.

5 Best Mobile Games Based On Movies was last modified: September 30th, 2016 by Gadget Advisor

The world has become more health conscious in the past few years, what with holistic living becoming a trend that doesn’t appear to be going out of fashion any time soon. More importantly, an increasing number of people are becoming fitness conscious.

The desire to be in good shape seems to be the latest lifestyle choice, with television advertisements majorly promoting a healthier body image. Many fitness gadgets have also hit the market in the recent past.

Fitness gadgets are very handy for they tell you everything you need to know about your workout –distance covered, the cals you burned, your heart and pulse rate, etc. Now you can get much more information about how productive your workout is and how to get better.

To keep the trend going, we have listed 5 of the best fitness gadgets to own in 2016.

This newest offering by FitBit has health nuts excited. The company claims to have pulled all stops to make the ultimate fitness watch. For starters, it has a colour touchscreen. It also has music, and call, text and calendar alerts. It has a heart rate and pulse tracker, a multi-sport mode, a smart-tracker that will record exercises for you and a workout summary option too.

The Blaze also connects to the GPS on your phone so that you can track your route and get all the stats about your run/walk. It comes with a FitStar option that gives you workout instructions and coaching. To ensure that you get a good night’s rest, the Blaze comes with a sleep tracker that tracks your sleeping activity.

This is a tiny little gadget that is a ton of help without really getting in the way. You attach the sensor to the back of your shorts, and run! It tracks your run and other workout sessions too.

You can get real-time auditory feedback from the sensor about your running form. It gives suggestions for other exercises and drills for future workout sessions, for better fitness and improvement. It even syncs to your phone so that you don’t need to lug it around when out for a run. Leave the phone at home, and the sensor will send all the info to the app for you to check later.

Sure, the name sounds a little ironic, but the intention is the same – to track your fitness regime. Although the Misfit Ray is a sleep tracker, it does much more than. Apart from monitoring sleep, it tracks steps and distance of a run/walk, calories burned, allows tagging your favourite workout activities, alerts for messages, calls and alarms, and even lets the user take selfies.

It is prided to have a very long-lasting battery, which means you never need to take it off. The highlight of this gadget is that it fits into different accessories. It can be your bracelet or necklace too!

Now what’s a good workout regime if you can’t keep a track of the results? This is where FitBit’s smart weighing scale comes in. For fitness freaks, measuring body weight is important. But what’s the harm in getting a little something extra in the process?

The Aria tells you not just your weight, but also tracks your BMI, lean mass and body fat percentage. It has its own set of charts and graphics to display all the important stats. It syncs to your phone and other FitBit devices. It can store this data for multiple users. That means your entire family can track their fitness routine on the same scale!

This can’t be called a fitness gadget per se. It is more of a health assistance gadget. It mainly ensures that you remain hydrated by getting you to drink more water, in a healthy way. Apart from that, it also always displays the calendar, clock and weather on the screen.

You can set alarms for drinking water, especially if you tend to forget and don’t get enough. It customizes and monitors your drinking plan, right from the quantity to the frequency. It has an in-built alarm for reminders. What’s more, you can also send messages to your loved ones reminding them to drink water, and the cup will display it!

Wrapping Up

When buying a fitness gadget, first make a list of what your needs are. Then plan your budget. And after that, start your research. It is always best to make a list of your requirements rather than buying an expensive gadget that’s no help and regretting it later. Also do some research online; there are many deals and discounts that you can snag on shopping websites. So get out, get fit! The world’s a better place if you look fit and feel great!

5 Best Fitness Gadgets to Own in 2016 was last modified: May 21st, 2016 by Web Desk

A new ingestible medication sensor has been brought to market by Proteus Digital Health, with the aim of helping the wearer monitor their medication intake and health information. By combining a wearable patch with an ingestible sensor, the system can monitor the patient’s heart rate, activity, and temperature throughout the day. The ingestible sensor is swallowed at the same time that the patient takes their daily medication, creating a time-stamped record of the medication’s consumption. A caregiver or doctor can then monitor the information received, to see how the patient responds to the medication in real time.

Why Is This Health Sensor Important?

The health sensor is important for ensuring that patients adhere to medication regimens, as well as preventing medical mistakes.
According to an extensive study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, every year over 100,000 Americans are killed as a result of adverse drug reactions. This makes these types of incidents one of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States.

A number of these deaths may have been prevented, if they were due to errors made in dispensing medication or incorrect prescriptions. Pharmacy mistakes are extremely common, with pharmacists reporting around 10,000 medication errors per year in the UK.

Using a smart medication sensor would flag these mistakes quickly, particularly if the patient experienced an adverse drug reaction to an incorrect dose or incorrect medication.

How Does the Smart Sensor Work?

The smart sensor has been approved by the FDA, and works by way of using thin layers of metals on the outside of the sensors. A layer of magnesium, copper and gold inside the circuit react with acids in the stomach, which causes an electrochemical reaction. This reaction creates enough power for the sensor to work, and the sensor then transmits information to the patch that the patient is wearing.

The patch senses data such as the heart rate, breathing, and sleep activity, and that information is then combined with the records from the stomach sensor to be sent as a package via Bluetooth to a smartphone app.

Which Patients Will the Sensor Be Best for?

The smart sensor will not necessarily be suitable for all patients, however, and may be more useful for individuals with particular illnesses. Other medical adherence and monitoring devices are also already on the market, such as uBox, and each different sensor device may be appropriate for different people.

For example, uBox reminds patients to take their medication, and also allows you to add family and friends to help monitor your medication intake. In contrast, Proteus may be of more assistance to those with mental health needs, as the sensor is embedded within the medication. Medical adherence is a particular problem among those with serious mental illnesses, with one study showing up to 74 percent of schizophrenia patients stopping their medication within 18 months. With these adherence issues and mental health, it is important that doctors are alerted if the patient doesn’t take their medication. With a reminder program or smart pillbox, there’s nothing stopping the patient from taking their medication out of the box and then throwing it away. With Proteus, the sensor is activated when the patient swallows the medication, so pills being thrown away will still trigger an alert being sent to the patient’s doctors.

Another example is that of the Propeller Health sensor, which is tailored specifically for patients suffering from asthma and COPD. The sensor attaches directly to the asthma inhaler, and collects information about particular triggers, reminds patients to take medication doses on schedule, and allows them to make decisions that alleviate their symptoms more regularly (such as avoiding particular places).

These types of revolutionary new technology can help both patients and doctors to aim for better health, and can even potentially stop fatal medication mistakes from being made.

A Medication Smart Sensor You Can Eat! was last modified: May 5th, 2016 by Gadget Advisor

The introduction of cloud-based video bridging solutions has made the traditional MCUs redundant. According to Telepresence Options, ttraditional MCUs are almost killed, and even the traditional vendors providing MCU hardware are migrating to cloud-based solutions. It further states that 65 percent of CIOs believe that desk phones will be a thing of past by 2017. The future lies in cloud-based video bridging for IT, according to Blue Jeans. Cloud-based solutions are easier to scale and least expensive when compared to their MCU offerings. However, MCUs are not completely out of the market since infrastructure market is valued at $700 million a year. The industry is moving towards acceptance phase and is migrating to cloud-based solutions due to the immense advantages they offer which you cannot ignore anymore.

Benefits of CloudVideo Bridging

There are three types of multipoint control units(MCUs) you can choose with respect to video collaboration: Stand-alone, embedded, and cloud-based. Most think that the low-cost aspect is the only benefit with cloud-based video collaboration solution – but it has got many more advantages.

Reduced Maintenance

Cloud-based MCUs substantially reduce the maintenance and management of bridging service. It even eliminates the need for IT staff to take care of the hardware and their up gradation. You can totally allow specialized experts to support, manage, and maintain your video conferencing solutions in the cloud, which will give you total peace of mind. It will help in reducing the burden on your IT support team.

Less Infrastructure Requirement

When you move to the cloud embracing software based MCUs. IT companies can eliminate the hardware systems and associated infrastructure. Software MCUs run on virtualized servers; there is no need for expensive infrastructure. It helps companies save money.

Scalability

Hardware MCUs always limit the scalability. Even when they are scalable, they are expensive since they are defined on a per-port basis. You require more video ports to serve multipoint customers. All these cost money. With the aid of software MCUs, you have the flexibility to scale as and when you need. You pay only for what you avail, and there is no worry of over or under provisioning. It enables you to expand your capabilities as needed, either temporarily or permanently without investing on extra MCUs. It is always easier to purchase additional licenses that are much cheaper.

No Upfront Costs

The talk of cloud-based MCUs is not complete without discussing the savings regarding money. A major advantage of Cloud-based MCU is their cost efficiency. The traditional MCU requires upfront costs to purchase infrastructure equipment. The usage-based subscription model of cloud-based services cuts down these upfront costs drastically. Cloud-based MCUs make video collaboration more affordable and accessible to small and medium-sized IT organizations who cannot afford to spend huge upfront costs.

Accessibility

The biggest issue with traditional MCUs is managing firewalls. Usually, the hardware version is deployed behind the company firewall. External callers have to obtain firewall permissions to connect. End users will not have the ability to open ports to accept calls from outside. However, Cloud-based bridging makes collaboration simpler by creating a virtual meeting room for everyone to interact in the cloud. Each one dials from behind their firewalls and meet in a central virtualized meeting room.

Interoperability

There are many vendors in the market offering different solutions. The differences in standards create the problem of interoperability. Since different vendors follow their protocols, configurations, and networks, the connectivity becomes cumbersome. The cloud-based MCUs provide seamless connectivity across different devices since it acts as a translator for various protocols enabling different devices to connect smoothly.

Bandwidth Usage

Video conferencing consumes considerable bandwidth. It affects the corporate network and slows down the entire network affecting the performance. Cloud-based MCUs help bandwidth intensive video calling to be streamed separately from the organization’s network. It is separated from the local LAN, which keeps the corporate network accessible for other critical operations.

The Cloud-based MCUs are mobile ready and provide video conferencing ability to mobile devices to improve the productivity of organizations without requiring any extra infrastructure.

Cloud-based solutions are almost 75 percent more cost-effective than traditional hardware-based MCUs as indicated by Kitaro website. The Cloud-based video conferencing solution can save you time and money and increase the productivity of employees. It also enables top management to stay in constant touch with the employees at lower levels and reinforce the goals of an organization irrespective of where these employees are based.

Cloud-based services are gaining popularity since companies realize the benefits it offers regarding cutting upfront costs and also on maintenance. These software based MCUs are also scalable and allow you to expand as a business grows without requiring additional investments in infrastructure, which could quickly become redundant. In conclusion, well-organized video conferences can impress the clients to an extent that might convince them to work with you for a longer period or might as well reward you with a bonus.

Featured image credit: bigstockphoto

The Seven Advantages of Cloud-based Video Bridging was last modified: April 23rd, 2016 by Gadget Advisor

Telecommunications is a term that refers to any type of communications products and services used by an individual or a company. You may use products like the best virtual PBX because you work remotely from your office or because you have employees working remotely. These products and services are also great for those who need to meet with clients living all around the world and those who want to be more efficient at work. Hosted IP PBX providers offer a number of new services that work well in offices of all sizes.

Video Conferencing

When searching for a hosted PBX, consider choosing a provider that offers video conferencing services. Video conferencing lets you communicate effectively with others from the comfort of your office. Instead of making dozens of phone calls and trying to find ways to get everyone involved in the call, you can host a video conference that lets everyone work together over video screens. Video conferencing also lets you see the way your clients respond to the content you provide and gauge their reactions.

Mobile Apps

Whether you work at home a few days a week or rarely go to the head office, you may need mobile apps that you can take with you. A mobile app is one that you can download to your computer, a smartphone or even a tablet. You can even connect the app to some of the dashboard systems in newer vehicles. These apps make it easy for you to check your email and voicemail to see if clients had any questions or concerns. The apps let you send messages back and stay in touch with both clients and employees while away from the office.

Voicemail to Email

Most offices today have voicemail setup for all employees working in that office. This lets you record your own personal greeting to let callers know who you are, how they can leave a message and when you will respond. You can also let them know when you’re away from the office and when you will return. A new feature is something called voicemail to email. This feature automatically turns each message left for you into a simple typed message that goes right to your email account. This is an easy and simple way to check your messages when you aren’t sitting next to your phone.

Automated Operator

Offices that are a little on the smaller size may not have enough cash to have a receptionist standing by to answer every phone call that comes in at the office. An automated operator can help your business run more smoothly and make you come across as more professional. This type of operator serves as a virtual receptionist. The individual will answer all calls that come in and route or direct those calls to the appropriate workers and departments. The operator will work remotely of your office and cost less than hiring a receptionist would.

Voicemail Setup

Virtual PBX providers USA companies often offer help when it comes to setting up the voicemail system used by your office. In addition to the voicemail messages or greetings that each employee makes, you also need an outgoing message that greets callers as soon as the machine picks up. You will also need to understand how to record that greeting, change the greeting and check your messages later. As you look for the best company for your business needs, make sure that the company will offer some setup help in the beginning and ensure that representatives can help you in the future too.

Optional Features

As the telecommunications industry changes, you want to ensure that you work with a company that will keep up to date with all those changes. The best providers are those that offer optional features and services that you can add to your standard package now or in the future. You might want a reception console that distributes calls every day or a shared call program that lets multiple users talk on the same line. Other features you might want to add to your telecommunications package include hold music, a call queue, call waiting or the ability to record custom greetings.

Telecommunications services help you stay connected to all your workers and all your clients. You can use these services while away from the office, after hiring some employees to work from home or to provide your clients with the information they need over the phone or during a video conference.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Advancements in VOIP Phone Services was last modified: March 21st, 2016 by Gadget Advisor

Black Friday is Upon Us

40″ LED flat screen TVs on sale for $349.00, Brand-new lawn mowers with special financing available, and the dubious 40% off all women’s intimates at JCPenny. These promotions know no bounds, they ascend even up to Toyota dealerships with $4,000.00 friends and family rebates. We’ve all seen them. We’ve seen the newspapers with announcements that seem to creep earlier and earlier into the week. We should be calling this time of year “Retail Week” instead of “Black Friday” or something to that effect.

After perusing articles written over the past month or so I’ve come to conclude one thing. Everyone has their own opinions. What I do know to be true is something that most of us that work in retail already know.

Retailers make money even in the face of insane sales, navigating the shopping season get’s a bit tricky. Sit back, get a cup of coffee, and keep your credit cards in your pockets.

This advice is free.

What not to buy BEFORE Black Friday

TV’s especially 4K sets

Kindle Fire Tablets all sizes

Appliances

Laptops

Movies, Gaming Bundles, Streaming Systems, and Outerwear.

A great example of this section would be my own impatience. I went into Fry’s Electronics in Tempe, AZ a few weeks ago and I saw a 42″ 4K Sony Bravia on sale. I tried to buy the thing and was refused because the 20-something attendant didn’t know they weren’t supposed to be out on the floor–until I wanted to buy it. It was priced at $549.00 and I hadn’t seen it that low anywhere else. Frustrated, I settled and bought a 48″ 1080p Sony Bravia because I just wanted my TV and to start the 4 hour trip home.

While walking down the aisle last week I noticed Walmart has priced a 42″ 4K Vizio for 538.00. I can only imagine what it’ll be marked down to this weekend.

Cue facepalm.

While we can’t forecast what will sell and what won’t sell, we can reasonably assume that the draw this year is going to be both 4K and 1080p TV’s.

Our reasoning:

Retailers need to make room for 4K offerings for the next year as well as speed up 4K adoption rates for suppliers who want to push 4K sales across the board. More 4K sales means more support for higher streaming resolutions, higher graphics cards, faster computing, better Blu-Ray discs, basically all of these products supporting 4K is a cash cow for suppliers. Another factoid, more data bandwidth consumption due to 4K equals more money for Internet Providers.

1080p TV’s are on the way out.

In order to make room they need to be sold. It might be several years until they are the new 720p HD Plasma’s but more 4K means more money for everyone supporting the platform.

Kindle–well… tablets in general–, Laptops/PC’s, Gaming Console Bundles, and Movies are going to be discounted pretty deeply. The more of these items that are sold the faster the adoption rate for technology occurs and the more money suppliers can make on secondary tech such as more expensive Blu-Ray Players or Special Edition discs during the holidays.

The more laptops and PC’s that are sold equal a higher rate of adoption for the new Windows 10 Platform. Once that is done, developers can safely assume that supporting the new OS is going to be a lot less risky and more profitable. Gaming systems have always been high but with the sales offered during the holidays, we are definitely going to see the demand for software for these consoles spike in the next year or so. This keeps gaming developers happy right along with the hardware producers who get a little cut of that pie.

Appliances are like cars. They need to be sold so new models can be ordered. Look for a slightly older models in order to find the best deals.

Items to avoid THROUGH Black Friday

This list is all about those things that have a logical reason behind avoiding them this shopping season. Looking at the sales during the winter months we typically always see the cold weather items going on sale in the summer, and vice versa. If anything we plan on seeing a reduction of 10% for those items that are usually already discounted throughout the rest of the year. An example is a cardigan you see at Charlotte Russe which is normally 85.00 marked down by 10% off what was usually already marked down by 20%.

Winter Apparel

Cars

Furniture

Exercise Equipment

Fine Jewelry

Apple Products (No Bias Here)

Cars usually go on sale toward the end of the year in December as dealerships want to move product. As a matter of fact, if you wait just one more month they may get desperate enough to let you sign off on a new car with subprime credit and no driver’s license–my brother-in-law–true story.

Furniture can seem enticing at low prices this weekend but based on historical trends, most furniture sales happen during the summer months as more people spend their time indoors during the fall and winter. New models of… new models of… new models of couch? (is that the correct way to say it?) also get released during the fall.

Exercise equipment comes out around January to make way for the New Years’ Resolution crowds. Wait until then to buy that deeply discounted treadmill or elliptical.

Fine Jewelry will have better sales just before Christmas. Although diamonds almost never go below a certain amount of money per carat they will certainly have a better deal even if it’s just the insurance that’s free with purchase.

Apple does not want to be associated with bargain products and low prices because like diamonds they’re selling an image.

They’re selling luxury and investment in premium product lines.

Looking back over the previous years, we didn’t see many sales except for gift cards from the iTunes store.

A good tip is to check third party retailers, they may have better deals.

Other things to avoid

Smart Phones

Computers and Laptops

Cutting Edge Gadgets

Used Gaming Consoles

In the age of Nextel and Sprint’s Wi-Max network, the big four were elbows deep in a system of using subsidized phones to push contracts. When they noticed the trend of users consuming more data the two biggest opted-out of providing new Unlimited Plans. This changed the way telecom did business forever. Fast forward to today, we have subsidized phones from only 2 carriers with 1 of them stopping the practice by the end of 2015. This promotes full up front pricing, installment payments based on credit, or the ubiquitous lease. What does this mean for me you ask?

You aren’t going to see many deals with free, low-cost, or otherwise cheap two year subsidized phones.

Buying a Computer in general seems to be a great option this season and it is… Unless you want to buy future insurance by looking for a product that dances on the bleeding edge of technology–which I recommend, by the way. Technology moves so fast we would rather see you buying at a slightly reduced premium–the best gear–in order to keep yourself from having to upgrade for at least 3 years.

Not only that but features editor Marcy Bonebright on Dealnews.com, reported back-to-school sales for PC’s and Laptops in July and September reign supreme with a 9% cheaper deal than even November’s best deals. 9% may not be a whole lot but if your looking for a gaming rig at around 1999.99 then that’s almost 200.00 in savings.

Used game consoles may be a terrible idea depending on where you go. Gamestop has their own in-house extended warranty you can buy but not much can be said on buying online from Amazon or Ebay. When brand new consoles like the PS4 and XBox One may even be on sale at ultra low prices. Buying a used system at only 50 dollars in savings compared to new… doesn’t make a lot of sense and you may find yourself wishing you hadn’t bought refurbed.

Things to consider

Staggered Sales across the weekend

Not everything is discounted… read (price gouging)

Some of the best deals are online

Check for Free Shipping

Stay Patient

One thing we noticed over the past year was different retailers offering special deals on several items but on different days of the week due to complaints from consumers that felt they were cheated when they came to stores for specific items and arrived only to find them sold out.

Mentioning this, not everything is going to be discounted. According to Shop Adviser on the Consumer Affairs’ website states:

As a matter of fact, Black Friday turned out to be the day on which shoppers begin to see prices spike on select items. On Black Friday itself, 24% of the toys on Shop Adviser’s list were priced above their initial holiday season price. The company’s survey last year pretty much confirmed that trend remains intact (Huffman, 2015).

Why the bait and switch?

Standard practice is to have sales to draw people in but mark up items to offset the cost of the sales. Coming to a department store you may see winter coats on sale (again, less 10% overall) and find that you like a pair of earrings that were priced at 149.00 marked down to 119.00 (originally 129.00 previously marked down to 109.99). This leaves you paying 10.00 more in some cases!

Retailers need to make money, bottomline.

Some of the best sales are online due to not having to worry about taking up valuable retail floor space. Online retailers are able to charge less than those stocking in-store solely based on overhead. But with this is a grain of salt. Make sure you look for free shipping, otherwise it may make more sense to go to the retail store and buy a slightly overpriced item–but what you pay you pay for being able to take it home and not having to pay shipping (Shipping gets included in the product pricing, but it is cheaper to ship hundreds of items at once than to ship one item at a time).

Remember, patience pays off. Last minute changes in item sales, restocking inventory without telling anyone, staggered sales throughout the week, and in an economy that always seems to be in recovery… merchandisers are going to be under a lot of pressure to sell. By the time Christmas rolls around we could see them bidding for your dollar.

Stores with the best online deals

According to Donna Doyle from Dealnews.com the best retailers to shop online with are:

Amazon

NewEgg

Best Buy

Walmart

Target

Why don’t you take a look at their sites using the links below for an idea of what they offer:

Outliers

Some deals are only in-app for retailers (So far the main retailer doing this is Amazon. According to Lindsay Sakraida from Dealnews.com: …these deals can be found on the “App Only Deals” tab and “will be released daily from 3pm PT to 11pm PT starting Thanksgiving through Wednesday, December 9.” Shoppers can use the “Watch a Deal” function to be alerted via push notification about when these offers go live, which is a convenient way to avoid checking your phone all day.

You really, really have to watch your online purchases, make sure you’re able to get a refund and make sure you understand you may not get it even with money in hand. How fast can retailers–or anyone really–place orders, check inventory, update information, etc., if 10,000 people are all pressing “Buy Now” at the same time?

Cyber Monday

Finally we have a small list of top 10 stores for Black Friday Deals (average discount percentage in parenthesis) followed by the top 10 to avoid this season courtesy of Wallethub.com:

Top Ten Performers:

JCPenny (68%)

Kohl’s (66.7%)

Stage (63.9%)

Groupon (63.7)

Belk (59.5%)

Macy’s (56%)

Kmart (50.1%)

Panasonic (47%)

Fred Meyer (45.3%)

Office Depot and OfficeMax (42.8%)

Bottom Ten Performers:

Costco (19.5%)

Sam’s Club (24.9%)

Amazon (25.8%)

Big Lots (27.1%)

Walgreens (28.7%)

Toys R Us (28.9%)

Gamestop (29.2%)

Walmart (30.1%)

BJ’s (30.6%)

Home Depot (31.4%)

Afterword

There are many myths surrounding the hype. The worst is that you have to camp out at big box stores all night on thanksgiving or that people behave like animals and things get dangerous during the door opening. I’m telling you if you shop smart, and enter in this week with a game plan, the season should give you the best bang for your buck. What was Black Friday like for you?

Please take a moment to share your own Black Friday Experiences in the comments below!

Black Friday is Upon Us – How to Navigate the Deals was last modified: November 24th, 2015 by Elias Stevens

Creating a good website has a million steps involved. Most of them involve the design or content, and that is frequently where our mind gets stuck when we begin. What you might not spend nearly enough time considering is the very first step: web hosting.

Sure, it isn’t nearly as interesting as other choices you will make. In fact, it might be the most boring part of launching a site. But it is one that will impact everything from the price you pay, to the features available, to what help you have at your disposal if something goes wrong.

The last thing you want is to be subject to a hack, and have no recourse beyond your own personal backups. Or to find out that you have been paying double what you would be with another host.

Here is a checklist to follow, so you can make sure you are considering everything you need to prior to making your selection.

1. Comparing Competitor Prices

The first step is narrowing down options based around price. This is going to be a starting point, but not the end. Depending on the other items on this checklist, you may have to go back and check other competitors a second, third, or fourth time. But having a beginning set will at least let you strike out the “no-way” hosting companies that you can immediately see won’t fit your budget.

If you are planning on making money from your website, whether as an official business page or through monetization (affiliate, PPC, ad, etc), immediately strike our any free plans. Free hosting is not made for businesses, it is made for small personal pages. Be ready to invest some cash, or don’t bother.

2. Price Versus Value

Next, you need to look at what you are getting for the higher paid plans. Consider your needs first, and then think of what you would like to have that isn’t 100% necessary. Find the first set of plans across each hosting site that meet both your needs and your wants, giving you two tiers of options.

How much of a gap is there in prices between the two? Is it worth putting in that extra money to have your wants met as well as your needs? For most people, the answer is going to be ‘yes’. Mainly because of number 10 on this list, which we will get to. Either way, always consider the value beyond the price.

3. Discounts Per Agreement

If things are a bit out of your price range, you may want to consider a hosting site that provides a discount for a longer hosting agreement. For example, most hosting companies provide a 25%+ discount to people who pay for more than a single year.

You can buy up to five years of hosting, and get a significant slash in your final price as long as you are willing to pay up front. Some will cut down the cost by as much as half! Of course, this won’t be refundable if you choose to switch to another host. So think carefully before you settle on one.

Never pay month to month, as it is way more expensive than it is worth. Better to splash out for a full year, even if you end up switching later on.

4. Niche Hosting

Web hosting doesn’t categorize itself based on niche of content. But it does on the needs of its users. Some hosting companies are made for small businesses, some for blogs, some for video hosting, some for large enterprises.

Choose according to where you want to be in, say, five years. Not where you are now. This also ties into number 10; you should always be forward thinking.

5. Features

Obviously, the features offered through a hosting company are important. But not everyone will need the same perks, so have a clear idea of what you really need before searching a host.

Many will be in the same price range, but have a vast difference in what they offer where it counts. Take Siteground, which offers unlimited bandwidth and 10 GB disk space for $3.95 per month on a standard shared hosting plan. Bluehost, on the other hand, is $3.49 for the same bandwidth, yet offers unlimited disk space. There are literally cents of difference, but that diskspace makes Bluehost the better of the two.

6. Web Space

Always select a plan that is unlimited. This is possibly controversial, because many people will point out that a webmaster might not need unlimited space. I say, it doesn’t matter. Why would you pay for 10 GB when you can have as much as you need?

Gone are the days of hosting sites charging out the nose for this feature. Now, it is just par the course. Not only for shared hosting, but even business plans.

7. Advertising Policies

Going back to what I said before about free plans and how you should never have one, advertising is why. All free hosting sites will spam your website with advertising, which you have no control over, and won’t benefit from.

Check the ad policies of even paid plans, and also be sure you know their offered support on advertising for your own monetization. Some have ad specific features that can potentially boost revenue.

8. FTP Access, and Site Builders

Never use a site builder. It might seem like a good idea at the time, and a cheap way to create a site, but it won’t look good. If you don’t know how to make a website, hire someone who can.

Also do yourself (and your web designer) a favor, and choose a host with FTP access for quick file porting. It just makes life easier on everyone.

9. Customer Service/Tech Support

You want a host that has a good history of customer and technical support, just in case things go wrong. You don’t want to find out your chosen company is awful about supporting their customers in the midst of a crisis.

I have seen too many webmasters skimp on hosting, and everything goes fine until the site goes dark. Then they learn their mistake as they wait four hours to talk to someone who kind of knows what they are talking about.

10. Future Growth, and Upgrades

This was mentioned in two other items on this checklist, which should show you how important it is. Your site is (hopefully) going to grow. You should be prepared for that. But you also want to be prepared for sudden traffic spikes.

All it takes is one piece of viral content, or even a mention in an Ask Reddit thread, and you are going to have a massive influx in visitors. You don’t want to have the site crash under the pressure of all that traffic, and miss out on the opportunity for more conversions.

Bonus: User Review

No hosting service will have a 100% positive user feedback. It’s just the matter of the business: Every site goes down or gets hacked and users are likely to put all the blame on the hosting. What you want to pay attention in user reviews is:

We often associate messes with guilt. Messes come into our lives when we color outside the lines, when we’re perhaps a little more indulgent than we are used to. Moments like these can bring on a bit of apprehension, but it’s nice to have a nonjudgmental robot in your corner, sucking up the evidence. In the Neato Robotic Vacuum’s latest ad campaign, we’re presented with five videos, two of which stand out to me as I write this bit.

The first one is a pretty young woman waking up after what she quickly realizes was a one-night stand. But as her paramour pulls his smiling bearded face from beneath the covers, the bleary-headed woman is pleased to see that he is good looking and gracious. She quickly tries to arrange her hair as his back is turned pulling himself from the bed. He offers her breakfast as he stands fully upright, and the woman lays eyes on all of him for the first time. His back is covered in a forest of long, thick, brown hair. Leaving to make the meal, she pulls a single long hair from off her tongue. The Neato Vacuum in-obtrusively trundles over to clean up the mess.

In the other video a middle aged woman is looking for a late-night snack in the refrigerator. Her eyes pass over veggies and leftovers and settle on a single brownie on a plate. Guiltily, she picks the brownie and quickly gorges most of it, without even closing the door. The crumbs fall the the floor at her feet. Aghast at breaking from an apparent diet, she throws out the remaining brownie and leaves the room, only to quickly return and dig it out again for enthusiastic consumption. Again, the Neato is there to swoop away the evidence.

Life is like both of these ads. Sometimes we just need a little robot companion to come along and make our lives a little easier. Neato can be that for you, and it won’t make any judgments.

A good book is like a good friend. It’s available when you need it most. That’s what makes ebooks so appealing for many people. It’s convenient to have a selection of books to choose from while traveling. A digital library doesn’t add weight to your luggage the way hardbacks and paperbacks do. With Nook book reading apps for iPad, you have as many books as you want to read at your fingertips.

Rated a 4+ and highly recommended by users, the Nook app provides users with access to book, magazines, newspapers, comics, and more. Nook book samples are available for free and members are offer a free 14 day trial to any newspaper or magazine subscription offered through the app. The app requires iOS 7.0 or later. It’s compatible with the iPad and other Apple devices.

Once you’ve downloaded the free reading app to your device, you’re left with the decision of how to fill it with your favorite titles. Many people find free ebooks through various sources. The following list of websites offer free downloads for your iPad’s Nook app. Through the epub format, filling your iPad with wonderful reads is easy. Here’s where you find new and classic titles by your favorite authors:

The Nook Store

Clearly, the Nook Store offers free downloadable books. There are 1.8 million titles in the catalog alone and free samples of paid titles give you the option to try a book before you buy it. Syncing your books across multiple devices is easy. Start reading a title on your iPad and finish it by phone. As long as you have the Nook app, you’re all set.

If you want to purchase a book as a gift for a family member or friend, access the Nook Store. Click on “Buy as gift,” and set the delivery date. Your loved one has the option to redeem the book or trade it in for a gift card towards a title of their liking. As CNET explains, “There’s something wonderful about gifting someone with a book you read and loved, knowing they’ll dive in to the same world you explored through text on a page.”

Project Gutenburg

If you love classics, you’ll find Project Gutenberg valuable. It’s filled with free public domain ebooks. Rather than spend money on titles elsewhere, check the online repository for copies of your chosen

title. You’ll find authors such as Jane Austen, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens on the site. Choose downloads from a long list of languages including Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

Smashwords

With over 200,000 titles in its catalogs, Smashwords gives you access to independent authors and titles. Download books in epub or pdf format and read them in the Nook app on your iPad. To find titles to fill your account with, do a search using the following filter phrases, “bestsellers,” “that are free,” “that are 50k words or longer.” Before you know it, you’ll have access to over 23,000 free ebooks. Select the genre(s) that interest you and make sure that the price reads “Free!” before downloading them.

Goodreads

Boasting over 2,500 titles, the largest book discovery site offers many books in epub format. Members of the website sort books according to the most downloaded, most popular, recently added, and lowest price. Goodreads allows readers to submit reviews and see ratings before downloading titles. You essentially know if a book is good before downloading it to the Nook app on your iPad.

Open Library

An initiative of the Internet Archive, there are 1,000,000 free ebook titles to choose from. Filled with classics, it’s been called the “Wikipedia of Books.” If you’re looking for a specific edition of a book, you’ll find it easily on the site. The Open Library is open and editable. According to the site, its goal is “to build a web page for every book ever published.”

ManyBooks

With over 29,000 free ebooks to choose from, it isn’t any wonder why ManyBooks is a favorite for owners of the Nook reading app for iPad. Searching for titles is easy and the site makes recommendations base on a user’s interests. The book detail page has requisite information about authors and publishing dates. It also includes information about word count and reading ease. There are a number of different formats available to choose from with epub being one of the options downloaded most often.

In Closing

If you love technology and books, you’ll want to add the Nook book free reading app to your iPad. It’s convenient to carry a portable library with you. Accessing your favorite books is as easy as tapping on the app and opening up the title of your choice.

Where to Find Free Books for Your Nook Book Free Reading App was last modified: September 15th, 2015 by Gadget Advisor